Dhahi Khalfan inaugurates ‘Innovation Arabia 12’

DUBAI — Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai and Chairman of HBMSU’s Board of Governors, today officially opened the 12th edition of Innovation Arabia Conference and Exhibition.

Dedicated to innovation in the Arab World, the three-day event is being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, under the theme ‘Building Smart Communities: Balancing Innovation, Change and Transformation’. It brings together leading figures, leaders and key decision makers from various fields all under one roof, to discuss and explore the impact of ‘innovation’ on various key sectors of the regional economy.

Following the opening ceremony, Dhahi Khalfan toured the exhibition area, where he was briefed about the latest innovative technologies that are revolutionising the regional economies and contributing to the growth of their key sectors.

This year, Innovation Arabia Conference and Exhibition features a rich comprehensive agenda comprising a number of highly scientific and top-quality discussions on four parallel tracks of smart learning, quality and business management, health and environment and artificial intelligence.

The event is expected to attract over 1,200 researchers, scientists, innovators and academia from more than 50 countries, witnessing the presence of over 30 speakers, 160 scientific sessions, 15 panel discussions and debates and 4 workshops tailormade for professionals in various fields.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU and Chairman of the Conference’s Higher Committee, in his keynote speech explained that the current session coincides with the UAE Innovation Month, a real reflection of the importance of the conference as an important addition to national efforts to establish a culture of innovation, and is a strategic priority for our wise leadership to oversee the UAE becoming the number one country worldwide. He further emphasised what His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as once saying that innovation is the UAE‘s approach to building a sustainable future.

Al Awar added, “We are honoured to organise the 12th edition of Innovation Arabia. The event will continue to orchestrate the fruitful strategic partnership with INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions; complementing our leadership in removing existing walls between the academic and private sectors and allow us to keep up and lead the 21st century developments. The conference has promising prospects for exploring ways to build smart communities while balancing innovation, change and transformation.”

Innovation Arabia 12 also featured the HBMSU Awards Ceremony to recognise the achievements and outstanding contribution of leading innovators, business leaders and experts in various fields.

During the opening ceremony, HBMSU announced its pioneering ‘Benchmarking Framework and Data Set for Online, Open, Smart and Technology-enhanced Higher Education’. This is an international consortium of experienced and interested stakeholders in ICT-driven higher education to develop and operate a Smart Learning Benchmarking Data Set.

The confirmed founding members of are Association of Arab Universities; Uninettuno University, Italy; European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, EADTU; Asia e University; Philippines Open University; Asian Association of Open Universities; Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, ANQAHE; Commonwealth of Learning; Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, and Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai.